Port of Thunder Bay Optimistic For A Succcessful 2012
by Chris Heikkinen
Communications & Research Coordinator
Thunder Bay Port Authority
Another navigation season is underway in the Port of Thunder Bay and although it is still early, Port officials are optimistic that the success of the 2011 season will continue through 2012. Overall cargo tonnage in 2011 was 7.6 million tonnes, up 11% from 6.9 million tonnes in 2010.
One of the Port’s success stories in 2011 was grain. A million more tonnes passed through the Port’s elevators in 2011 than in 2010, amounting to a 20% increase in shipments. Wheat remained the highest-volume grain through the port, totaling 4.4 million tonnes. Canola, however, made the biggest jump from 2010 with volumes more than doubling to a port record 1.4 million tonnes for the commodity.
The high tonnage of canola can be attributed to a strong Western Canadian crop yield in 2011. Experts are predicting another good season for canola, with seeded acres in Western Canada expected to be near record levels. Wheat acres are set to rebound from low levels in 2011
due to spring flooding.
Another of the Port’s success stories is its project cargo business, which has been growing steadily for the past seven years. The Port of Thunder Bay is regaining recognition as Canada’s Gateway to the West – an important link in the supply chain for heavy, dimensional cargoes
destined for mine sites, wind farms, and the Oilsands in Western Canada. Project cargo volumes handled at Keefer Terminal in 2011 reached a record high 100,000 freight tonnes.
The project cargo initiative was started by the Thunder Bay Port Authority in an effort to accomplish its strategic objective of diversifying and increasing the port’s cargo. Project cargo volumes have climbed every year, and the trend is likely to continue in 2012. “We expect to see further increases,” says Tim Heney, CEO of the Port Authority, “We’ve developed a very competitive gateway, and offering back-haul grain for foreign ships delivering project cargo is certainly a benefit for the shipper.”
Other advantages of Thunder Bay include direct access to CN and CP railways and the TransCanada Highway, abundant skilled labor, and significant laydown areas for storage and staging which are constantly being expanded to satisfy demand. And, coming in 2012, a Liebherr LHM 320 Mobile Harbour Crane for Keefer Terminal. Standing ten stories high, the LHM 320 was a bold investment by the Port Authority in partnership with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation that will increase the Port’s competitiveness in the project cargo market.
The crane has a 104-tonne lifting capacity at an 18.5 metre outreach, meaning it can lift a wind turbine nacelle out of the middle of a ship and place it directly onto a truck or railcar on the dock. It can reach even further for lighter lifts, and has impressive capacity for clamming bulk cargo out of a ship – up to 1,100 tonnes an hour. “This crane will make a difference in our cargo handling efficiency, it is the only one of its kind west of Montreal on the Seaway,” added Heney.
